Almost a quarter of the Northern Rivers can’t access the places most people take for granted, like our beaches, parks, and public toilets. That’s a significant chunk of the population; which is why Living Lab Northern Rivers brought research and local knowledge together in their recent talk ‘A Home for Every-Body’. It focused on how design impacts people’s independence and ability to participate in the community, which should be a growing concern with 24.8 per cent of people in the Northern Rivers living with disability, a whopping seven per cent above the Australian average.
On the panel to discuss inclusive design and community-led research was: Phillippa Carnemolla, a leading researcher of inclusive environments; Zac Misfud, a performer, dancer and musician, whose projects include My Radio Heart, a theatre show with a mixed-ability ensemble; and, Cath and Andy Graeme-Cook, a local couple who contribute to various committees like the Byron Council Access Consultative Working Group, informed by Andy’s experience living with multiple sclerosis.
What does accessibility mean?
A vibrant community is a diverse one. And a diverse community is one where everyone gets to fully participate.
Without accessibility, people’s basic human rights aren’t realised, because they’re unseen. This means everyone misses out on the rich contribution of the elderly and people with disability, which is what’s happening right now with one in four residents of the Northern Rivers currently impacted.
But what does good design and accessibility mean? A ramp over a gutter? Or a handrail in the bathroom? Well, that depends on who you ask, because you’ll get radically different answers from an architect, urban planner, and someone with lived experienced.
Take a public toilet for example. Not a space anyone really wants to access, even the ones designated ‘accessible’ are often a complete horror show for people using a wheelchair, which is why Phillippa Carnemolla started a highly focused study at UTS recently.
‘We were really interested in speaking with people who use wheelchairs about how public bathrooms are actually used,’ says Phillippa. ‘And it was really striking what we found. I learnt that the toilet seat, for many people who transfer from a wheelchair, becomes a handrail. And people are viscerally close to the bowl during that process. This means people need to find a good clean toilet, so maintenance became one of the critical aspects of accessibility.’
The value of lived experience
This gap between design and reality is something that Andy Graeme-Cook has been dealing with in the Northern Rivers for the past 22 years, while living with multiple sclerosis and using a wheelchair.
‘Inclusive design is done by clever people with great intentions,’ he says. ‘But often not by people with lived experience. A classic example is the hospital in Lismore. Everyone has these clever devices, like a vehicle hoist to get them out of their van, but try putting them down on a street that’s sloping 45 degrees. Everything goes wrong. Gutters is another. They’re nice in parts of town, and I can get up some, but it’s often a perilous journey. I came out of my chair once and that was a horrific experience.’
Supporting Andy on his journey, from using sticks to walkers to a wheelchair, Cath always managed to find humour in the early stages of Andy’s disability journey.
‘I remember this local employment agency that was for disability, and it had stairs out the front,’ says Cath. ‘We just thought that was the funniest thing. We used to laugh about it, but now we realise it’s everywhere and people just walk past these issues all the time.’
Home modifications
Then there’s housing. Just when you thought the news couldn’t get worse for the Northern Rivers, it turns out ‘affordable’ housing typically means narrower and less accessible, so a guy like Andy literally couldn’t even get in the front door. It’s an easy fix, and some developers and councils are making progress, but too often these design decisions are being made without the right people’s input.
‘I did my PhD in home modifications, and started doing some advisory work with councils,’ says Phillippa. ‘Then I became really interested in who’s not in the room on these committees. Often, they rely on people being able to volunteer and turn up in a council setting.’
Joining the dots
‘It’s shocking accessibility isn’t a bigger issue because it’s something that impacts older people too, so it’s coming for everyone. It’s not enough to have an accessible home or shopping centre,’ says Phillippa. ‘It’s critical our streets and all the connection points are well designed too. It’s about understanding diversity within the full breadth of the community and most critically it’s about designing with community.’
Living Lab Northern Rivers is a project bringing research and local knowledge together to create solutions for our region to thrive. A recording of ‘A Home for Every-body’ is available at llnr.com.au.
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